How is St. Louis being impacted by the Financial Crisis?

RealtyTrac.com is reporting today that the number of foreclosure filings seems to have leveled off in the last few months in St. Louis. Does this mean that we are out of the woods or is this the calm before the storm? One of our community partners weighs in on this issue in an article published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch this morning:

Karen Wallensak, who heads the Catholic Charities Housing Resource Center, said she had seen activity pick up again in the new year. She said she was dubious that many banks’ mortgage restructuring plans would help much in the long run, unless they write down principal on the mortgages. Efforts in Congress, she said, have done little so far to make banks give borrowers a break.

It appears as if St. Louis is bucking the national trend as RealtyTrac has also reported this morning that foreclosure filings rose 81% in 2008 from 2007. To get more information on this report click here.

These events show that none of us are immune to the financial crisis. Even with the foreclosure filings leveling off in the St. Louis area we are still impacted – in so many ways – by this crisis. It is important for everyone to remember that we are all in this together and that we can all be proactive in addressing our own situations.